Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Melbourne, FL

March 31, 1989Brevard County, Florida

NWS Melbourne, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 31, 1989, 12:36 PM EST for Brevard County, Florida. It was in force for 24 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 31, 1989, 12:36 PM EST (17:36 UTC)
Expired
Mar 31, 1989, 1:00 PM EST
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Melbourne, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Brevard County, FL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Canaveral, FL (KXMR), launched 12:00Z, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 27 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 1989-03-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1474 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Cape Canaveral, FL at 12:00Z on 1989-03-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 98 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1474 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
668 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KDAB 311737
TORDAB
FLC009-311815-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAYTONA BEACH FL
1236 PM EST FRI MAR 31 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DAYTONA BEACH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING AND
SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA
          ...BREVARD
 
AND ADJOINING COASTAL WATERS BETWEEN.
 
 
 
AT 1225 PM EST A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND JUST NORTH OF THE
CITY OF PALM BAY...JUST SOUTH OF MELBOURNE...BY CITY POLICE. RADAR SHOWSA CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MELBOURNE
TO ABOUT 20 MILES OFFSHORE.
 
THE TORNADO WAS REPORTED MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AND THUNDERSTORM
MOVEMENT AS WELL WAS EAST AT AROUND 30 KTS.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
 
AS THIS DANGEROUS STORM MOVES OUT OVER THE COASTAL WATERS...
BOATERS IN THE THREATENED AREA SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO AVOID
THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Melbourne, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 31, 11:46 AM ESTTornado WarningMLBBrevard29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Florida, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.